You are all one in Christ Jesus

“…You are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendent, heirs according to the promise.” This declaration of St. Paul reminds us of an internal and external unity that we should honor and cherish.
“You are all one in Christ Jesus.” It is easy to emphasize our divisions and overlook the basis for our unity. In contemporary Catholicism, we often highlight divisions within the Church between traditionalist and progressive Catholics. We then highlight divisions outside the Church between Catholics who support more liberal political movements and those Catholics who support more conservative political movements. Yet, we all should share a transcendent unity. Our transcendent unity is our faith in Jesus Christ and our belief that the values of his Gospel should be what shape our lives and, through our lives, our world. As Christians, we should be able to have thoughtful, respectful conversations that seek to unite us more closely in our common understanding of the values of Jesus Christ and how those values should find expression in our lives and in our world.
We are also Abraham’s descendants. As Christians, we have to remember that Jews, Christians, and Muslims all acknowledge Abraham to be our father in faith. This means that Jews, Christians and Muslims share a fundamental unity. If you understand the true nature of Islam, the faith of Muslims, you would understand that there is more that unites us than divides us. Consider the 5 pillars of Islam – declaration of faith in God, prayer, almsgiving, fasting and pilgrimage. All of these are part of the Judeo-Christian tradition as well. With all of the divisions in our world, Jews, Christians and Muslims have a special obligation to show that amidst the beauty of our diversity, we can experience a fundamental unity that provides the foundation for peace and the well-being of all persons.
Let us be instruments of unity within our Church and in our world!